Supporting Aboriginal education

Aboriginal youth is the fastest growing segment of the Canadian population. At the same time, about a third of Aboriginal adults have less than a high-school education.

Suncor and the company's private, non-profit, charitable organization, the Suncor Energy Foundation (SEF), is supporting Aboriginal education — a key community investment priority. We are doing this because it's the right thing to do — and because it's smart business. Our core oil sands operations are based on or near traditional lands of Aboriginal Peoples, as is our Sarnia, Ont. refinery. An educated, engaged Aboriginal workforce is in everyone's best interests.

That was the message Suncor president and CEO Steve Williams took to Indspire's National Gathering for Indigenous Education in Calgary, Alta., in March 2013.

"Canada's future needs the innovative spirit, energy and leadership of indigenous youth," said Williams. "That's why we're investing our time, money and ideas to support their teachers and help make it happen."

Williams was on hand to help launch the Indspire Institute, a new online meeting place and resource for those engaged in Aboriginal education in the K-12 grades. The SEF has committed $1.7 million to support Indspire Institute programs, including Nurturing Capacity: Building Community Success, a program available across Canada for communities experiencing challenges in the area of K-12 achievement.

Suncor has been a partner of Indspire (formerly the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation) for 14 years, supporting Indspire scholarships and the Indspire Awards.

Here are some other organizations supported by Suncor that are working to improve the educational and leadership opportunities of Aboriginal youth:

Actua is an Ottawa-based national science, technology engineering, and mathematics (STEM) program for youth. Suncor provides funding to help Actua develop and deliver STEM programs to Aboriginal youth across Canada. We are now also supporting work Actua is doing to research and develop a framework for its program and to share it with other non-profits that do similar work — an example of how Suncor is trying to multiply the benefits generated by our community investments and create shared value.

Bridges Social Development is a Calgary-based non-profit organization that works with communities in Canada to build capacity and train youth leaders. Among its annual events is Aboriginal Youth Explosion, an event that brings together young people who have participated in Bridges' Unveiling Youth Potential program to share their stories with the broader public.

The Banff Centre is home to one of Canada's most recognized Aboriginal leadership and management development programs. A $1 million investment by Suncor continues to support the Building Sustainable Leadership for Community Development program, which works directly with Aboriginal communities to develop unique approaches to deal with specific issues identified by communities.

Learning Through The Arts (LTTA) is a program developed by Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music that brings artists into schools across Canada, including in the Wood Buffalo region. The LTTA has developed a customized program for Aboriginal communities, integrating Aboriginal language, artists and art forms.